January 2012
1 post
No Longer Updating
Thank you for following us on Tumblr. Unfortunately we will no longer be updating this account. If you want the latest Smithsonian Folkways news you can visit our website, watch our videos on Youtube, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
October 2011
1 post
10 Free Downloads from The Mickey Hart Collection →
Get 10 Free Downloads from The Mickey Hart Collection! Today is the official release date for 25 albums performed, recorded and/or produced by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. From influential Indonesian recordings dating back to 1941 (restored by Hart from the The Library of Congress) to sessions from theApocalypse Now soundtrack, this is an amazing collection available digitally for the first...
September 2011
20 posts
Staff Pick Friday!
Staff pick Friday! Listen to “Corazón Desecho” by Debbie Martinez, recommended by Smithsonian Folkways intern Sandra Amolo. http://goo.gl/KGcKq The album “Dios, Familia y Tierra” is from the recently acquired M.O.R.E. collection. Martinez was a sensation in New Mexico during the 1970s, and she used her popularity to promote the region’s musical culture at a time when few female musicians...
Pete Seeger and Elizabeth Mitchell Perform at the...
Watch Pete Seeger and Elizabeth Mitchell perform “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” at the 2011 Newport Folk Festival: http://goo.gl/HxPbJ Elizabeth Mitchell will play at The Space Gallery in Portland, Maine this Saturday at 11am and 2pm. Find out more about her upcoming concerts: http://goo.gl/it93L
Smithsonian Magazine "Around The Mall" Blog
Instrument showdown! Do you call it a fiddle or a violin? Cast your vote at the “Around The Mall” blog from Smithsonian Magazine, where Michael Pahn writes about the instrument with two names and features fiddler Tommy Jarrell http://goo.gl/acKUd. Listen to “Sugar Hill” by Tommy Jarrell and Frank Bode from the 2007 Smithsonian Folkways album “Classic Old-Time Fiddle from Smithsonian Folkways”....
Recently Published Stories By Suni Paz In Two...
Argentine folk and children’s singer Suni Paz has recently published stories in two anthologies, Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memories of Mother and The Spirit of a Woman. Stories to Empower and Inspire. Read more about the anthologies: http://goo.gl/UmYb7 http://goo.gl/gxbhu
Elizabeth Mitchell Performs at Maverick Concert...
Watch Elizabeth Mitchell and Family perform “Sumer is Icumen In”, a traditional English round, at the Maverick concert series on August 6th in Woodstock, NY. http://goo.gl/QZHj0 For more information on Elizabeth Mitchell’s tour dates, visit http://youaremyflower.org/
Warner Williams Receives 2011 NEA National...
Read about 2011 NEA National Heritage Fellowship award recipient Warner Williams, who is known for playing an Eastern seaboard style of blues (called Piedmont blues) that incorporates fiddle tunes, ballads, country and popular songs, ragtime, and gospel. http://goo.gl/KDZ8Z Listen to “I’m Confessing That I Love You” from his 2004 Smithsonian Folkways album, “Blues...
Trivia Tuesday
Answer our Tuesday trivia question on Facebook correctly and receive a free song download from Smithsonian Folkways! http://goo.gl/NqBjN
International Talk Like A Pirate Day
Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so you might as well sing like one too! Sing along to “Larry Maher’s Big Five-Gallon Jar” on Smithsonian Folkways album “Irish Pirate Ballads and Other Songs of the Sea” by Dan Milner and guest artists. http://goo.gl/8FNAw
This Friday's Staff Pick
Staff pick Friday! Smithsonian Folkways intern Linnea Jimison recommends The Original Folkways Recordings of Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley, 1960-1962. Listen to “Old Ruben” from this two-disc collection http://goo.gl/E70dB. Brought together by Ralph Rinzler, the two started performing in various settings across the USA, spurring Ashley’s comeback and launching Watson’s solo career in the wake of...
PRI's "The World" Features Los Hermanos Lovo
Celebrate Salvadoran Independence Day and the start of Hispanic Heritage Month! Listen to Smithsonian Folkways artist Los Hermanos Lovo on PRI’s “The World” http://goo.gl/hiZLR to learn more about chanchona music of eastern El Salvador. http://goo.gl/XI0Jo
Preview 25 Songs From the Upcoming Mickey Hart...
Preview 25 songs (one from each album!) from the upcoming Mickey Hart Collection from Smithsonian Folkways, which will be released October 11. http://goo.gl/symtg Read more about the collection on the news page of the Smithsonian Folkways website: http://goo.gl/3FckG
Happy 100th Birthday, Bill Monroe!
Happy 100th birthday Bill Monroe! Listen to “Live and Let Live” from the 2006 Smithsonian Folkways box set, “Friends of Old Time Music”. http://goo.gl/3uSo1
Monroe, known as the “Father of Bluegrass”, helped create a genre that would become synonymous with his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Read more about his history and the three day centennial celebration in Kentucky:...
Public Radio International's "The World" Feature...
Public Radio International’s “The World” featured Colombian group Cimarrón’s album, “¡Cimarrón! Joropo Music from the Plains of Colombia”! Listen to Marco Werman’s review of Cimarrón’s traditionally rooted music of the plains: http://goo.gl/GSqeX Also read the article and watch two videos on Cimarrón: http://goo.gl/c0lYA
Tapestry of the Times Podcast Archive
Listen to the complete archive of Tapestry of the Times, a weekly podcast produced in partnership with WYPR 88.1 FM in Baltimore, MD, that explored the Smithsonian Folkways catalogue. Follow host Aaron Henkin on a voyage back in time and around the globe with 36, hour-long tours of the wide ranging sound archives of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings....
Battle of the Cumberland Gap Anniversary
148 years ago today, Union forces claimed victory at the Battle of the Cumberland Gap in the U.S. Civil War. Listen to “The Cumberland Gap” from the recently issued A Treasury of Civil War Songs sung by Tom Glazer. The Cumberland Gap was held alternately by Union and Confederate forces, and this song about the period when it was under Confederate control. After the battle in 1863, the Cumberland...
Smithsonian Folkways Podcasts
Did you know that Smithsonian Folkways has more than 80 hours of free podcasts? Smithsonian Folkways podcasts feature music, sounds and spoken works from all over the world. Download our free podcasts and subscribe to get automatic updates of new episodes: http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/podcasts.aspx , or on iTunes U:...
National Geographic Interview with Cimarrón
Read a National Geographic interview with GRAMMY-nominated Colombian ensemble Cimarrón and learn about the musical traditions of the llaneros (the people living on the plains of the Orinoco river). Cimarrón recently released its newest Smithsonian Folkways album, “¡Cimarrón! Joropo Music from the Plains of Colombia”. http://goo.gl/l36Fv
This Week's Trivia Question
Test your knowledge with this week’s Smithsonian Folkways trivia question! http://goo.gl/EdrA3
Behind the Scenes Preview of Smithsonian Folkways...
Watch a behind the scenes early preview of a recent Smithsonian Folkways recording of Kichwa music performed by Hatun Kotama, assisted by a few Smithsonian Folkways staff, in Otavalo, Ecuador. http://goo.gl/NxC7X
August 2011
20 posts
Smithsonian Folkways Certification Workshop in...
Earn a Smithsonian Folkways certification in world music education! In June, Smithsonian Folkways collaborated with the University of Washington to offer an intensive training workshop in World Music Pedagogy to K–12 (and a few university-level) teachers. Read more about this June’s workshop and plans for next year’s workshop in the summer issue of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine....
Smithsonian Folkways Remembers David "Honeyboy"...
Smithsonian Folkways remembers award-winning blues legend David “Honeyboy” Edwards (1915-2011), who passed away Monday morning. His music embodied the continuity from blues’ Delta roots to electric Chicago blues. Listen to “Catfish Blues” from his 2001 Folkways album “Mississippi Delta Bluesman”. Please share your remembrances of this blues legend who continued touring nearly until...
Read how "The Minivan Mama" enlists the help of “A...
Read how “The Minivan Mama” enlists the help of “A Life of Song” by Ella Jenkins and “A Treasury of Civil War Songs” by Tom Glazer, to keep the family happy and upbeat on the ride home from their vacation. What are your go-to family-friendly road-trip albums?
Listen to “Polca de Zamora” by René Marino...
A 5.9 earthquake hit the DC area (&...
The Woody Guthrie archives has announced a new...
The Woody Guthrie archives has announced a new album - “Note of Hope.” The 12-track collection of words & music, derived from a body of Guthrie’s unpublished writings written between 1942 & 1954 while he was living in NYC, features performances by a select group of artists. Stay tuned for an announcement about a new Woody Guthrie box set from Smithsonian Folkways to be released...
Listen to “Nam Samkirtan (Chanting the Name of...
Acclaimed musician/songwriter Chip Taylor will be...
Acclaimed musician/songwriter Chip Taylor will be releasing “Golden Kids Rules” October 18 on Smithsonian Folkways. Often finding inspiration from family & seeking to write songs with & for his grandkids, Taylor is accompanied on the album by granddaughters Riley, Kate, & Sam. They made their debut performance July 9 at the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
El Salvadoran expatriate family-band Los Hermanos...
On September 13, El Salvadoran expatriate band Los Hermanos Lovo will be releasing their album, “¡Soy Salvadoreño!”, on Smithsonian Folkways, 2 days before Salvadoran independence day. With material that includes Salvadoran standards, original compositions, & reinterpreted songs from other genres, this album will provide an animated look at the band’s homeland.
Read a piece in the Edmonton Journal about...
Read a piece in the Edmonton Journal about Jonathan Kertzer, new director of the Folkways Music Project at the University of Alberta. Michael Asch, son of Folkways Records’ founder Moses Asch & former professor at U of A, donated 2,000 Folkways recordings to the university in 1985. Under the name “Folkways Alive!” the archive has coordinated w/ U of A’s Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology.
The Smithsonian Folkways blog has been featured in...
The Smithsonian Folkways blog has been featured in the AudioProductionSchools.org list of the 50 Best Music Blogs. The eclectic list contains blogs with topics ranging from hip-hop production techniques to rock music in India. Peruse the latest album releases & press, artist information, new website features & updates, & more on the Smithsonian Folkways blog.
Read about the husband/wife folk duo who is...
Read about the husband/wife folk duo who is re-adapting the songs of folklorist & Folkways artist Margaret Macarthur (1928-2006). Macarthur recorded “Folksongs of Vermont” for Folkways Records in 1962. Red Heart the Ticker consists of Tyler Gibbons & Robin MacArthur, Margaret’s granddaughter.
Listen to “Dog Days of August” by Cephas &...
Listen to “Albert Schweitzer by Joseph Gollomb...
Richard Carlin will be speaking & signing copies...
Richard Carlin will be speaking & signing copies of his book, Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, @ the bookstore of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, tomorrow from 6-7pm. The book chronicles the journey that began w/ the founding of Folkways Records in 1948 by Moses Asch, who sought to document “people’s music” & sounds from around the world. Click here for...
Read an article about two Folkways albums that...
Read an article about two Folkways albums that chronicle the beginnings of both manned & unmanned space flight, here. 1958’s “Voices of the Satellites!” provides radio signal recordings from the first American & Soviet satellites, & the second album, 1964’s “Man in Space: The Story of the Journey”, recalls the first American’s space flight in 1961.
Listen to “Song of the Ramadan for the Month of...
July 2011
15 posts
Yesterday marked the 190th anniversary of...
"Afghanistan's music in the Smithsonian...
Read an article written by Atesh Sonneborn, Associate Director of Smithsonian Folkways, titled “Afghanistan’s music in the Smithsonian collection,” appearing in the Summer 2011 edition of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine, here. The piece describes the various cultural influences that have shaped the music of Afghanistan, as a result of the region’s location as a crossroads between diverse peoples.
Listen to “Alala D’as Rias Baixas -...
Do you prefer physical or digital music? Streaming...
The Society for Ethnomusicology (ethnomusicology.org) is discussing on its Listserv differences between physical & digital for record labels/libraries. Smithsonian Folkways distributes on-demand CDs, LPs, & digital downloads in both MP3 & FLAC format. The catalog is also available via streaming services like Music Online & Rhapsody. Do you prefer physical or digital music?...
